HB327

ENROLLED, An Act,

Relating to the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency; to provide for the civil enforcement of the Mandatory Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Law; to provide for civil penalties; to provide for appeals; and to provide for collection and distribution of the proceeds.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:

Section 1. For the purposes of this act, the following words have the following meanings:

(1) AGENCY. The Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency.

(2) MANDATORY MOTOR VEHICLE LIABILITY INSURANCE LAW. Chapter 7A of Title 32, as amended, Code of Alabama 1975.

(3) MOTOR VEHICLE INCIDENT. An incident involving the driver of a motor vehicle when a traffic citation was issued by a law enforcement officer or the driver of a motor vehicle was involved in an accident and an accident report was filed.

Section 2. (a) The Secretary of the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency shall develop procedures for the agency to review each motor vehicle incident to determine if the driver of a motor vehicle involved in the incident was given a citation for failure to comply with the Mandatory Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Law.

(b) If the agency determines that the driver of a motor vehicle was given a citation for failure to comply with the Mandatory Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Law, related to a motor vehicle incident, this act shall have no further application to the driver and the driver shall have the citation processed through the criminal courts of the state.

(c) If the agency determines that the driver of a motor vehicle was not given a citation for failure to comply with the Mandatory Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Law at the time of the motor vehicle incident, the agency shall make an independent determination whether the motor vehicle was insured under the Mandatory Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Law at the time of the motor vehicle incident.

Section 3. (a) If the agency determines that the motor vehicle the driver was driving at the time of the motor vehicle incident was not in compliance, the agency shall issue the assessment of a civil penalty in the amount of three hundred dollars ($300) for the first offense and five hundred dollars ($500) for a second or subsequent offense to the two hundred dollars ($200) for the first offense, three hundred dollars ($300) for a second offense, and four hundred dollars ($400) for a third or subsequent offense against the driver for failure to comply with the Mandatory Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Law unless the motor vehicle is owned by any person, firm, association, or corporation licensed and engaged in the business of renting or leasing motor vehicles. The notice shall be sent by first class U.S. mail to the address in the records of the agency or otherwise available to the agency on a traffic citation or accident report. The notice shall state that the driver's license of the person will be suspended for 90 days if the person, within 45 days of the notice, does not either pay the assessment in a manner acceptable to the agency or appeal the assessment by filing a notice of appeal with the agency. If the person fails to pay the civil penalty or file an appeal as provided herein, the person's driver's license shall be suspended for 90 days and the civil penalty shall be final. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the agency may grant a person an extension to pay the civil penalty not to exceed 60 days if the person files a written settlement of the assessment.

(b) An assessment under the provisions of this act may not be made more than six months after a motor vehicle incident.

Section 4. The agency shall provide by rule a hearing procedure and procedures for the administrative resolution of the notice of assessment. The rules shall provide that the hearing shall be conducted by a driver license hearing officer or other hearing officer appointed by its agency. The hearing may be informal and the sole issue shall be whether the motor vehicle being operated at the time of the motor vehicle incident was in compliance with the Mandatory Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Law. The appeal shall not be a contested case under the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act. The final order concerning the appeal may be reviewed in circuit court by the filing of a petition for review within 35 days after the final order is issued in the original appeal.

Section 5. If after a hearing, a person is found to be driving a motor vehicle in violation of the Mandatory Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Law, the civil penalty shall be final. If the civil penalty is not paid within 15 days, the person's driver's license shall be suspended for 90 days.

Section 6. The driver's license of a person assessed a civil penalty pursuant to this act shall not be reinstated unless the civil penalty is paid.

Section 7. All civil penalties collected pursuant to this act, after the collection, shall be deposited in the Highway Traffic Safety Fund on a monthly basis. After the deduction of the actual and necessary expenses of administering this act, the net proceeds shall be distributed as follows:

(1) 33 1/3 percent shall be deposited in the Motor Vehicle Replacement Fund of the agency.

(2) 60 1/3 percent shall be deposited in the Highway Traffic Safety Fund. One-third of this amount shall be used to improve communications for first responders and two-thirds of this amount shall be used to hire additional state troopers.

(3) 6 1/3 percent shall be deposited in the Alabama Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund as authorized by Section 36-21-66, Code of Alabama 1975.

Section 8. Any driver assessed a civil penalty for a violation of the Mandatory Liability Insurance Law shall not thereafter be subject to a criminal penalty for the same violation.

Section 9. The provisions of this act are supplemental and shall not be construed to repeal any law not in direct conflict herewith.

Section 10. This act shall become effective on the first day of the third month following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

Motor Vehicles

Law Enforcement Agency

Insurance

Revenue Department

Administrative Law and Procedure